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Fundamental relationship between Eros and spirituality

Sexuality and spirituality: here are two domains that seem to be the opposite one from the other. He who falls for concupiscence ends up in hell, whereas a completed spirituality shall release the individual from all sexual serfdom. These archaic ideas are still at work in a lot of minds.

But this wasn’t the case since times immemorial: Egyptians built phallus-shaped columns, proof that they saw in sexuality a spiritual function. In Ancient Greeks, sexuality was an intrinsic part of sacred ceremonies such as orphic cults or Eleusis mysteries.

The most amazing testimony is Plato’s. In two of his “dialogs”, the father of modern philosophies explains in fine, that the noblest function of Eros is make the soul’s wings grow, so that it may ascend to the Essences. Most exegetes translates “essence” by “idea”, a non-sense respects to the metaphor, and making it utterly senseless too.

Plato refers without ambiguity, to a transcendent dimension, located “above the sky vault”. The Essences are food to the gods and should also be so for souls. Unfortunately, most souls are fallen, and remind of the Essences only faint reminiscences. The aim of the celestial Eros is to restore this primordial contact, as it meant to exist in priests, poets and seers. Whereas vulgar Eros condemns souls to a desperate errand on the terrestrial plane.

We recognize in Essences what Jung designated as Archetypes. For the swiss psychanalyst as for the greek philosopher, whose access is granted through use of extrasensory abilities, away from our splitting apart spirituality and paranormal. These two reals are but one. Knowing that God is Love, from the rediscovery of the true relation between Eros and extrasensory abilities, stems also the restoration of their unity.

Evolutionary Ecopsychology adds to the Ancients’ teachings a precise definition of the conditions in which the love life can reach that superior goal. The systematic character of the “embranchment” to the extrasensory, as well the homogeneity of the manifestations observed until now, and the messages’ regular confirmations, allows to conclude to the reality of these phenomena.

Plato’s metaphors on love, give most of the time the impression of naïve believes, yet the fact reveal him to be an extraordinary precursor, even more in this area than in the others … or as the last inheritor of lost knowledge.

Let’s remark that the concept of platonic love, as defined since the Enlightenment, is prone to confusion. Plato doesn’t try to enforce a draconic sexual prohibition, he stigmatizes only desire (concupiscence), to which he attributes the subtle Eros’s failure.

Closer to us, the famous chef-d’oeuvre of Jeronimus Bosch, “The garden of Earthly Delights”, echoes the same message. The “howl”, classical allegory of the extrasensory capacities, is at the paradise’s center, and it is to her that tend love relationships. These are shown in extenso et in fine, exposing the whole polymorphism of non reproductive human sexuality, and some of the conditions to ensure fulfilment of its transcendent goal. The triptych’s third panel opposes to this enchanting world all the pains from hell that human life became.

Definition of a real phenomenon requires it to be verifiable and reproducible, these two conditions were thoroughly confirmed concerning the relations love and ESP. Paranormal messages’ pertinence and coherence, just like testing of precognitions or remote visions, constitutes a pledge of reality. The fact that similar manifestations are seen in similar conditions in a large numbers of subjects demonstrates largely enough, that hazard or simulations can’t be responsible. Physicians don’t do much better in matter of material phenomena!

The basic tenets of Evolutionary Ecopsychology, that is, that love lived under certain rules, prompts growth of extrasensory faculties on a systematic basis, is therefore already proved, and that result does not suffer concurrence from any other way or method. Knowing that these faculties play an essential role in the guidance, protection and spiritual development of the individual, as well as in interpersonal relations and structuring of human community, the value of this link between Eros and transcendence, and its irreplaceability, cannot possibly be exaggerated.